african-american heritage in arkansas

H I S T O R Y H A P P E N E D H E R E

African-American Heritage in Arkansas

APT 286 C3.HERITAGE GUIDE REVISED 6/8/07 8:42 AM

H E R I T A G E A N D C I V I L R I G H T S P A T H WA Y S I N A R K A N S A S

Follow the dream through Arkansas. Discover and explore the heritage of our civil rights struggles, musical

innovations and artistic revolutions that shaped this state known for natural beauty. V isit historic sites in the

hometowns of Arkansans who contributed to our common heritage.

A people as diverse as the land where they were born, Arkansans count among their uniq ue leaders visionary civil

rights activists, innovative musicians, inspiring poets and distinguished judicial and political figures. Throughout

Arkansas’s history, some of the most powerful contributions have been made by African-Americans who succeeded

in the worlds of arts and entertainment, politics and the civil rights movement.

The stories of these legendary people weave together to reveal the singular heritage and culture of The Natural State.

To learn more, visit the places showcased in this brochure and send for a free Arkansas V acation Planning Kit. O rder

yours by calling 1-8 00-NATURAL or logging on to Arkansas.com.

Arkansas' s Heritag e

APT 286 C3.HERITAGE GUIDE REVISED 6/8/07 8:43 AM Page 3

Arkansas and the Civil Rig hts Movement

NOW YOU CAN SIT ANYWHERE YOU WANT ON THE STREETCAR.

The 20th century saw many transformations as African-Americans overcame racial obstacles and fought for

eq uality across America. From the 1919 Elaine Race Massacre to the well-known Little Rock Central High

desegregation crisis in 195 7, Arkansas’s place in the history of the civil rights movement captured the

attention of the nation and the world. These heroes of school desegregation and civil rights reform shaped

Arkansas and moved us all forward in the march of progress.

AN AGE OF RIOTS

In 18 8 3 , short-lived race riots erupted in How ard

and Hempstead counties, beginning with a dispute

over property lines and ending in murder, mayhem

and q uestionable justice. The riots were rooted

in prejudice and the politics of the post-

Reconstruction era.

In Harrison, two separate episodes of racist mob

activity in 1905 and 1909 resulted in the destruction

and total exodus of a long-established African-

American community. Many left on foot to seek

refuge in the more diverse communities of Eureka

Spring s and Fayetteville, Arkansas and Spring field , Missouri.

THE RACE RIOTS IN ELAINE

Elaine, a small town in Phillips County, was the

site of a week-long racial conflict in 1919. Black

tenant farmers were holding a union meeting in a

church when shots were fired just before midnight on

Sept. 3 0. After two days of violence, federal troops

were sent in from Little Rock to q uell the riots. Five

white men were killed, and estimates of the dead

among blacks ranged from 20 to more than 8 00.

Civil rights leader Scipio Africanus Jones was the

attorney for the African-American defendants in the

Elaine race riot. Born into slavery in Dallas County, he

became a lawyer and community leader in the state

capital where he had several homes over the years —

from 1 9 1 1 Pulaski St., where he lived during the Elaine

trials, to the more substantial and stylish home at 1 8 7 2

Cross St., where he resided from 1928 until his death

in 1943 . Now known as the Scipio A. Jones House, it is

one of eight historical black properties in the

neighborhood surrounding Dunbar Junior Hig h School.

DUNB

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SCHO

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THE STREETCAR BOYCOTT OF 1 9 0 3

The State Legislature in 1903 adopted the

Arkansas Streetcar Segregation Act, which

assigned blacks and whites to different areas of

streetcars. A protest meeting against the act was

held by Little Rock’s black community at the First

Baptist Church (now the First Missionary Baptist

Church) at Seventh and Gaines streets. According

to the Mosaic Templars Building Preservation

Society of Little Rock, black boycotts in Little Rock,

Pine Bluff and Hot Spring s on May 27, 1903, the

first day of the streetcar law, led to a 90 percent

drop in black traffic on Little Rock streetcars. 2

APT 286 C3.HERITAGE GUIDE REVISED 6/13/07 4:18 PM Page 4

CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL DESEGREGATION CRISIS OF 1 9 5 7

Nine black students were scheduled to enroll (and

desegregate) Little Rock Central Hig h School in early

September 195 7. Gov. O rval Faubus ordered the

Arkansas National Guard to Central to prevent

“the Nine” from entering. President Eisenhower soon

ordered Faubus to withdraw the troops and sent in

the 101st Airborne, U.S. Army, to make sure the

students could enter the school. They were finally

allowed to enter Sept. 25 , 195 7. (For more details,

see “Desegregation in Arkansas,” p. 20.)

FORTY YEARS AFTER ANOTHER GOVERNOR KEPT THEM OUT, ARKANSAS GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE WELCOMES THE LITTLE ROCK NINE BACK TO CENTRAL — JOINED BY PRESIDENT CLINTON AND A HOST OF OTHER DIGNITARIES.

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AFRICAN-AMERICAN, ESQ .

The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville admitted the

first African-American law student, Silas Hunt, in

1948 . Wiley Branton from Pine Bluff followed Hunt to

the campus two years later. Branton would eventually

represent, along with Thurgood Marshall, the nine

black students who wanted to attend Little Rock Central

Hig h School in September 195 7.

In 1948 , Edith Irby Jones broke racial barriers

and made national headlines when she became

the first African-American student admitted to a

Southern white medical school when she entered

the University of Arkansas medical school.

COMMON GROUNDS

The Arkansas Council on Human Relations was

organized in December 195 4. Its purpose was to

seek improved human relations by working to secure

eq ual opportunity for all people. The council often

met at Ferncliff Presbyterian Camp and Camp Ald ersg ate

in Little Rock.

A NEW DEAL FOR TENANT FARMERS

The Southern Tenant Farmers’ Union was

established in July 193 4 by 11 whites and

seven blacks at Sunnysid e School near Tyronz a.

The Union protested the New Deal’s enrichment

of Southern cotton barons at the expense

of suffering sharecroppers, both black

and white.

HOX IE WAS A LEADER

In 195 5 , the school board of Hox ie voluntarily

integrated its schools. When outside segregation-

ist forces descended on the town, the board,

along with the town’s black families, stood firm.

O n July 11, 195 5 , 25 blacks enrolled peacefully

amid 1,000 white students in Hoxie, becoming

the third Arkansas school system to desegregate

and the first in an area of Arkansas with a large

black population. Less than a month later on

Aug. 20, white opposition to integration and

a story in Life magazine led to the local school

board decision to close its schools early. O n O ct.

24, a federal court barred segregationists from

preventing the admission of blacks, allowing

Hox ie schools to reopen.SI

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4 THE NATION’S EYES TURN TO ARKANSAS, LED BY LIFE MAGAZINE.


EARLY STUDENTS AT PHILANDER SMITH COLLEGE.

A FRIEND IN ROCKEFELLER

Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller is remembered as a

friend to African-Americans because of his work on

problems peculiar to African-American World War II

veterans, his interest in Philand er Smith Colleg e and his

support of the Urban League. Rockefeller was the

only Southern governor to publicly eulogize Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr. in the days following his

assassination. O n April 7, 196 8 , Arkansas Gov.

Winthrop Rockefeller stood hand-in-hand with black

leaders on the steps of the Arkansas State Capitol

and sang “We Shall O vercome.” Little Rock native

Mahlon Martin was named president of the

Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. Martin attended

Little Rock public schools and Philand er Smith Colleg e.

Before being named president of the Rockefeller

Foundation, Martin also served as Little Rock’s

first African-American city manager and state

finance director.

THE SECOND CADET OF COLOR

The son of former slaves, John Hanks Alexander

of Helena became the second black graduate of the

U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 18 8 7.

FLOWERS POWER

O n March 10, 1940, the Committee on Negro

O rganization (CNO ), headed by civil rights leader

and lawyer Harold Flowers, launched a campaign to

organize a half million Arkansas Negroes in the

Buchanan Baptist Church at Stamps. More than 45

Negro churches, civic and fraternal organizations,

with a numerical strength of more than 3 0,000

members, endorsed the organization. Flowers was

also President of the Arkansas State Conference of

NAACP branches.


6

MLK ATTENDS GRADUATION DAY

In May 195 8 , Ernest Green became the

first African-American to graduate from

Central Hig h School in Little Rock. Civil rights

leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. attended

the graduation ceremony.

A SAD DAY FOR FREEDOM

Following the April 4, 196 8 , assassination of

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., riots flared up in

110 cities across the United States, including

a minor disturbance in Pine Bluff.

JOHN BIRCH ON THE SCHOOL BOARD

O ne of the largest and most significant racial

disturbances to take place during Winthrop

Rockefeller’s governorship occurred not in

Little Rock, but in Forrest City. In 1969, Forrest City

had a population of 14,000, 5 0 percent of which

was black. In 196 8 , members of the John Birch

Society gained control of the Forrest City School

Board and, in March, fired with no explanation

the Rev. J.F. Cooley, a black who had taught

for 11 years at the city’s all-black Lincoln Junior-

Senior Hig h. His termination seemed to have

stemmed from his activities in the civil rights

movement, including the December196 8

formation of the Committee for Peaceful

Coexistence. Cooley had also helped organize

demonstrations and worked with black males to

prevent juvenile delinq uency. Cooley’s firing

fueled unrest among junior high students who

vandalized Lincoln in March and staged a

student walkout in April.


DR. KING’S COMMENCEMENT SPEECH

In 195 8 , Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the speaker for the Arkansas AM& N Colleg e (now the University of

Arkansas at Pine Bluff) commencement.

DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. WITH ARKANSAS AM& N PRESIDENT LAWRENCE DAVIS.


BOBBY BROWN, BROTHER OF MINNIEJEAN BROWN, ONE OF THE LITTLE ROCK NINE, PARTICIPATES IN THE “ WALK AGAINST FEAR.”

THE LONG WALK TO LITTLE ROCK

In 196 9, a “poor people’s march” from Forrest City

to Little Rock was scheduled for Aug. 20-24.

The march was meant to “dramatize outdated

conditions black people are forced to live in

throughout the State of Arkansas.” Although

Gov. Rockefeller negotiated with the march

organizer, the Rev. Cato Brooks, to postpone the

march and allow him time to find some solutions,

the march took place as scheduled. Renamed a

“walk against fear” and beginning in West Memphis,

it was led by Lance “Sweet Willie Wine” Watson,

the leader of a militant Memphis group called the

Invaders. Watson had been in Forrest City to help

organize a summer boycott of white businesses by

the town’s black population. The marchers were

escorted by plainclothes state policemen, and

the march ended without incident in Little Rock

on Aug. 24.


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Heritag e and Civil Ri g hts Sites

WE BUILT THIS LODGE

Built by and for African-Americans, the Masonic Lod g e

was the tallest building in Pine Bluff when completed

in 1904. Located at Fourth Avenue and State Street,

it was completely paid for exactly 14 years after the

cornerstone was laid.

THE BIRTH OF RAGTIME

Scott Joplin, an African-American composer,

is known as the “Father of Ragtime Music.”

He attended the Orr School at 8 3 1 Laurel in Tex arkana,

where he formulated many of his ideas. This

building represents one of the few standing symbols

associated with Joplin in his hometown. Also visit

the Scott Joplin Mural at Third and Main streets.

TELLING THE STORY

The El Dorad o Museum of African-American History

at 3 12 W. Grove displays memorabilia, oral histories

and artifacts of African-American life in South

Arkansas. 8 70-8 6 2-1422.

PINE BLUFF’S MASONIC LODGE.8


SPIRITED EX HIBITS

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, formerly

Branch Normal College and later AM& N College,

is the oldest existing Historically Black College or

University (HBCU) in Arkansas. Founded in 18 73 ,

UAPB is home to several outstanding permanent

exhibits focusing on the history and contributions of

blacks in Arkansas. The “Persistence of the Spirit”

exhibit documents 3 00 years of black history in

Arkansas and is on display in the Hathaw ay

How ard Fine Arts Center.

The “Keepers of the Spirit” exhibit, comprised

of photographs, text panels, artifacts and other

memorabilia, traces that 13 1-year history of UAPB.

This exhibit is located in the R.C. Child ress Hall

which now houses the University Museum and Cultural

Center. 1200 N. University, 8 70-5 75 -8 23 6 .

THE WILLIAM E. O’BRYANT BELL TOWER IS THE SYMBOL OF THE UNITY, LOYALTY AND PRIDE OF THE UAPB FAMILY. THE TOWER IS LISTED ON THENATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES.

SOME ENTERTAINING ARTIFACTS ON DISPLAY AT THE ARKANSAS ENTERTAINERS HALL OF FAME.

ARKANSAS ENTERTAINERS

Located in the Pine Bluff Convention Center, the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame exhibits chronicle the careers of

entertainers with Arkansas roots, including Louie Jordan, Al Green and William Warfield. 8 70-5 3 6 -76 00.


THE FORT SMITH JAZZ

The Alfonzo Trent House at 1301 N. Ninth St. in

Fort Smith was the childhood home of the famed

black jazz musician in the 1920s and ’3 0s. His band

was among the first permitted to use front entrances

to clubs and restaurants instead of the customary

service entrance. (Private site — exterior viewing

only.) 800- 637- 1477.

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THE ALFONZO TRENT HOUSE IN FORT SMITH.10

Heritage and Civil Rights Sites


SPA CITY PROJECT

The primary program of People Helping Others Ex cel

By Ex ample ( P.H.O.E.B.E.) , The Uz uri Proj ect, is a collection

of documents, photographs, letters, interpretive

displays, built environments and more relating

to the African-American experience in Hot Spring s.

6 08 W. Grand, 5 01-6 24-9400.

THE GREAT BLACK WAY

The Webb neig hborhood in Hot Spring s, anchored by the

1 8 7 0 Visitors Chapel A.M.E., was known for its “Black

Broadway,” where black-owned businesses thrived.

Black tourists were welcomed into the segregated

spas and bathhouses during the ’40s and ’5 0s, an era

when they were shunned by other resort towns.

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THE 1 8 7 0 VISITORS CHAPEL A.M.E., LONG AN ANCHOR OF THE SPA CITY’S WELCOME FOR AFRICAN-AMERICANS.



1 2 THE LAKEPORT PLANTATION HOUSE IS THE LAST ANTEBELLUM COTTON PLANTATION HOUSE STILL STANDING IN THE ARKANSAS DELTA.

FROM SLAVE TO FREE

The end of the Civil War brought a lingering sense of uncertainty about the future for blacks and whites. The

old forms and relationships had been destroyed by the war, but exactly what new forms would replace them

were unclear. Built in the late 18 5 0s, the Lakeport Plantation house near Lake Villag e has been restored as a

museum focusing on the land’s transition from slavery to tenant farming. The restoration is an official project

of the Save America’s Treasures program through the National Park Service and the National Trust for

Historic Preservation.

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TENANT FARMERS UNITE

The Mitchell-East Build ing serves as the Southern Tenant

Farmers Museum in Tyronz a. The building originally

housed a dry cleaners run by H.L. Mitchell and a service

station run by Clay East, two of the principal founders of

the Southern Tenant Farmer’s Union. The museum focuses

on the farm labor movement in the South and its role as a

forerunner to other civil rights movements.

OUR TOWN

Located in southeast Arkansas, Mitchellville was founded in

1944 by a black church group. Through the efforts of civil

rights activist Daisy Bates, it received federal funds to

improve city streets and develop housing. Today, Mitchellville

remains an all-black town.

EDUCATING THOUSANDS FOR LESS THAN $ 3

The Floyd Brow n-Farg o Ag ricultural School Museum, Farg o

was founded by its namesake in 1919. It is said that

Brown built the school with $ 2. 8 5 . The school

provided a q uality high school education to thousands

of black students for 3 0 years.

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CENTENNIAL BAPTIST CHURCH.

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO HELENA

The Delta Cultural Center in Helena features several

Civil War displays and tells the story of efforts to

settle and cultivate the fertile Mississippi River

V alley. “The Arkansas Delta: A Heritage of

Determination” exhibit focuses on the trials and

accomplishments of African-Americans in the Delta.

The center also features the great African-American

heritage of gospel and blues music. Missouri and

Natchez streets, 870- 338- 4350 or 800- 3 58- 0972.

CULTURE COMPREHENSION

The African-American Cultural Center in Jonesboro

emphasizes the history of African-Americans who

lived and worked in Craig head County and covers the

time from the arrival of the first slave in 18 6 0 to the

present. It also includes contemporary history of

African-Americans in other parts of the country.

110 Cooley Dr., 870- 972-2074.

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AFRICAN-AMERICAN GOTHIC REVIVAL

Centennial Baptist Church at Y ork and Columbia streets in Helena in Phillips County was built in 1905 from a

Gothic Revival design by African-American architect Henry James Price. It has been designated a

National Historic Landmark for the civil rights work of Dr. Elias Camp Morris, pastor from 18 78 -1922,

during the Jim Crow era. Dr. Morris’ civil rights work included the establishment of the Arkansas Baptist

V anguard weekly newspaper, the founding of the Arkansas Baptist Colleg e in Little Rock and the

organization of the National Baptist Convention.


THE CLASS OF 1 9 5 8

The original Central Hig h School National Historic Site and Visitors Center

is located directly across the street from the high school in a

restored Mobil gas station. With the construction of the new,

larger V isitors Center, the older building will become an

Education Center.

CEN

TRAL HAIL TO THE BLACK AND GOLD

Little Rock Central Hig h School is noted as Arkansas’s

most important National Historic Landmark

associated with the civil rights movement. The

desegregation of the school in 195 7 by nine blacks

assisted by the 101st Airborne is said to symbolize

the triumph of the Constitution over racial prejudice.

An architectural design award-winning edifice,

Central is also one of the largest high schools in

Arkansas. 15 00 S. Park, 5 01-447-1400.

VISITORS WELCOME

The new, 10,000-sq uare-foot Visitors Center has

three functions: telling the story of the local and

national events of the 195 7 desegregation crisis;

preserving and archiving objects and documents

related to the event; and housing administrative space

for the management functions of the V isitors Center

and National Historic Site. The new V isitors Center

is located directly across from the original V isitors

Center and across the street diagonally from Little

Rock Central High, on the northeast corner of South

Park Street and Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive.

The new V isitors Center, besides introducing

visitors to the rich history surrounding Little Rock

Central Hig h School, also serves as a gateway to the

historic neighborhood surrounding the institution.

The V isitors Center design respects the history and

character of the High School and neighborhood

through the use of appropriate scale, building

materials and landscaping. 5 01-3 74-195 7.

http:/ / www.nps.gov/ chsc.


1 4 THE NEW VISITORS CENTER BETTER TELLS THE STORY OF THE 1 9 5 7 DESEGREGATON OF LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL.

A METICULOUSLY PRESERVED MOBIL SERVICE STATION SERVED AS THE ORIGINAL VISITORS CENTER ( NOW THE EDUCATION CENTER) .

ARTIST’S RENDERING


LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL WAS ONCE NAMED THE MOST BEAUTIFUL HIGH SCHOOL IN AMERICA.


HONORING MISS DAISY

The Daisy Bates House, a National Historic Landmark, was the de facto command post for the Central

High crisis in Little Rock. Located at 1 2 0 7 W. 2 8 th St., the house became the official pick-up and

drop-off site for the Little Rock Nine’s trips to and from Central High School each school day, and

conseq uently, a gathering spot for the Nine and members of the press. The house also became a

freq uent target of violence and damage at the hands of segregation’s supporters. It is a

private residence and not open to the public.

AN AMERICAN THANKSGIVING, CIRCA 1 9 5 7 , WITH L.C. AND DAISY BATES AND THE CENTRAL HIGH NINE.

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TESTAMENT IN BRONZE

They are Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Jefferson

Thomas, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls Lanier,

Minnijean Brown Trickey, Gloria Ray Karlmark,

Thelma Mothershed-Wair, and Melba Pattillo Beals.

And they now stand, forever determined, in a

moving, life-sized sculpture on the grounds of the

Arkansas State Capitol. The sculpture, Testament, was

designed by local artists John and Cathy Deering.

ALMA MATER OF LEADERS

Founded in 18 77, Philand er Smith Colleg e was

established in Little Rock to educate former slaves.

The college still thrives today and has produced

prominent local and national leaders.

812 W. 13t h St., 501- 375- 9845.

1 6


TESTAMENT IN BRONZE.


MOSAIC TEMPLARS CULTURAL CENTER.

AN AMERICAN MOSAIC

Located in the hub of Little Rock’s black

business district, the Mosaic Templars Build ing ,

constructed between 1911 and 1913 , was

headq uarters to one of the most powerful

African-American fraternal organizations in

America. Frank W. Blaisdell, the architect who

designed the building, also contributed to the

landscape plan of the Arkansas State Capitol

grounds. The building officially opened in 1913

with a dedication ceremony featuring Booker T.

Washington. Famous African-American

musicians who performed in the auditorium

included Duke Ellington, Count Basie and

Billie Holiday. The building burned to the

ground in the midst of its renovation. In its

place, a brand new Mosaic Templars Cultural Center

is being built, scheduled to open in 2008 . The

Center will be the only state-funded museum

entirely dedicated to the story of African-

American life and business in Arkansas. It will

collect, preserve and interpret Arkansas’s

African-American history from 18 70 to the

present, including a permanent exhibit on

Dunbar Prep. 900 Broadway and 9th streets.

PRESERVING THE PLANTATION

Scott, a plantation settlement near Little Rock,

features the Arkansas Plantation Ag riculture Museum

which preserves the rich heritage of plantation life

and cotton agriculture in southeast Arkansas.

Junction of U.S. 16 5 and 16 1, 5 01-96 1-1409.

PIONEERS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Arkansas Baptist Colleg e in Little Rock, founded in

18 8 4, is one of Arkansas’s oldest black educational

institutions and was among the first Baptist colleges

established in America for African-Americans.

16 00 Bishop St., 5 01-3 74-78 5 6 .

DUNBAR PREP

From 1929-1955, Dunbar Junior/ Senior Hig h in Little Rock

was a segregated high school and was considered the

premier school for blacks in Arkansas. Its college

preparatory liberal arts curriculum, combined with a

vocational education track, made it the only black

secondary school and junior college in the state

accredited by the North Central Association for

Secondary Schools and Colleges. The memorabilia

room contains items and artifacts from alumni during

the segregation years. 1100 Wright Avenue,

501- 447-2600.

A HEALING PLACE

McRae Tuberculosis Sanitarium for Neg roes in Alex and er is named in honor of the former Arkansas Governor,

Thomas C. McRae, who signed a 1923 law authorizing the hospital during a time when the

tuberculosis survival rate was 25 percent for blacks. In 193 0, Dr. G.W. Ish, a prominent physician in Little

Rock, offered Hugh A. Browne, a tuberculosis specialist and survivor, the position of administrator and

director of medical services at McRae Tuberculosis Sanitarium. McRae was the first institution of its type in

the country staffed entirely by blacks. During Browne’s 3 1 years at McRae, he treated more than 7,000

patients and trained 15 young black doctors. The facility closed in 196 8 and now houses the Alex and er Human

Development Center at 14701 Highway. 111 South, Saline County. ARKA

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ARKANSAS’S FIRST HOUSE

The Old State House in Little Rock was the first Arkansas state capitol and was constructed in 18 3 6 , partly

with slave labor. After the Civil War and during the Reconstruction period, more than 40 black legislators

served in the O ld State House. The O ld State House was the site of an 18 91 protest meeting against the

adopted “Jim Crow” Separate Coach Law. African-American leaders participating in the meeting included

Professor Joseph A. Booker, president of Arkansas Baptist College; Dr. J.H. Smith, a Little Rock dentist;

the Rev. Ashberry Whitman; and the Rev. H.T. Johnson. It is believed that Mifflin Gibbs, the first black

elected municipal judge in the United States, had his office in the O ld State House. Today, the O ld State

House is an accredited museum which often displays its outstanding collection of q uilts made by Arkansas’s

African-American community as early as 18 79. 3 00 W. Markham, 5 01-3 24-96 8 5 .

WORSHIPPING SINCE 1 8 4 5

The three oldest African-American churches in

Little Rock – First Missionary Baptist Church, Wesley

Chapel, and Bethel African Methodist Episcopal –

were established by slaves prior to the Civil War.

O riginally organized in 18 45 by the Rev. Wilson

Brown, today First Missionary Baptist Church

(7th and Gaines streets) is housed in an impressive

red brick church with Gothic influences that dates to

18 8 2. Built in 1926 , Mount Z ion Baptist Church

(900 S. Cross St.) features the popular Prairie Style.

Along with Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, Bethel

A.M.E. Church, and Wesley Chapel United Methodist

Church, Mt. Z ion hosted NAACP meetings during

the 195 0s and ‘ 6 0s to further the Civil Rights

movement in Arkansas.

BIG PRAISE

St. Mark Baptist Church in Little Rock houses one of the

largest active black congregations in Arkansas.

5722 W. 12th St.

DOWNTOWN TIME MACHINE

The Historic Arkansas Museum in Little Rock is a testament

to Arkansas’s frontier days and offers a step back in

time. Five pre-Civil War houses, on their original

block and built partially with slave labor, are restored

to antebellum appearances. The contemporary center

features outstanding collections of Arkansas-made

decorative, mechanical, and fine arts objects in six

galleries, a museum store, living history theater,

educational areas and more. Small admission fee.

200 E. 3r d St., 501- 324- 9351.

PARTIALLY CONSTRUCTED WITH SLAVE LABOR, THE OLD STATE HOUSE IN LITTLE ROCK NOW FEATURES HISTORIC COLLECTIONS, ARTIFACTS AND EX HIBITS THAT TELL THE STORY OF THE STATE AND HER DIVERSE PEOPLE.

THE HUB OF ACTIVITY

Taborian Hall, constructed in 1916 by an African-

American contractor, was considered the hub of

the African-American business community in

Little Rock and served as headq uarters for the

Arkansas Chapter of the Knights and Daughters

of Tabor, a national fraternity. The building’s third

floor Dreamland Ballroom was often the scene for

African-American nightlife. Famous entertainers

from the “Chittlin’ Circuit” who performed

there included Louis Armstrong, Count Basie,

Ella Fitzgerald and many others. Ninth and

State streets.

ARE YOU EX PERIENCED?

EMOBA ( Ernie’s Museum of Black Arkansas) , located

in a former church building in Little Rock, is

dedicated to the history of blacks in Arkansas,

dating to the 18 40s. Changing exhibits explore

the black experience in Arkansas. 1208 Louisiana,

501-372-0018.


Deseg reg ation in ArkansasHOW WE OVERCAME IN LITTLE ROCK

In the 195 0s, America struggled to bring children of all races together for a q uality public education as

ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court in “Brown v. Board of Education.” Little Rock Central Hig h became one of

the first high-profile battlegrounds in this war between segregationists and civil rights leaders. Nine brave,

black students pioneered a path for thousands of future scholars in the halls of this great school.

In 1998 , President Bill Clinton signed into law an act of Congress designating Central Hig h School a unit of the

National Park System, setting aside the entire 21-acre campus, visitor center and surrounding area for

preservation and interpretation by the National Park Service. Central Hig h is the only high school in the United

States to also be designated as a National Historic Site.

Today, an integrated Central Hig h is consistently ranked as one of the top high schools in the nation.

2 0

1 9 5 4

May 1 8 : Gov. Francis Cherry says Arkansas will“comply with the req uirements” of the SupremeCourt desegregation ruling.

May 2 2 : The school boards in Fayetteville and Sherid anannounce that their systems will desegregate inthe fall. The Sherid an board rescinds its decisionthe next day in the face of public outcry. TheLittle Rock School Board issues a policy statement saying it will comply with the Supreme Court’s decision.

June 5 : Gubernatorial candidate O rval E. Faubus, a former state highway commissioner and the postmaster at Huntsville, pledges in his first campaign statement on school integration that “the rights of all will be protected but the problem of desegregation will be solved on the local level, with state authorities standing ready to assist in every way possible.”

Aug . 1 0 : Faubus wins the Democratic nomination for governor by defeating incumbent Cherry after a heated primary runoff, 191,328 to 184,509.

Aug . 2 3 : Public schools in Charleston admit 11 black students, making that Franklin County community the first in the former Confederacy’s 11 states to end school segregation. Charleston’s school superintendent waits until Sept. 14 to disclose the desegregation to the news media. Dale Bumpers,later the state’s governor and a prominent U.S. senator, served as legal counsel to the school board at this time.

Sept. 7 : Fayetteville Hig h School enrolls nine blacks along with 5 00 white students, following Charleston as the second desegregated system in Arkansas and the O ld South.

Nov. 2 : Faubus wins his first term as Arkansas governor by capturing 6 2 percent of the vote over Republican Pratt Remmel.

Nov. 1 5 : Arkansas and six other Southern states, plus theDistrict of Columbia, file briefs urging that theSupreme Court permit gradual application of its ruling against school segregation. Attorneys for black parent groups in four states petition the court to order total desegregation by September 195 5 or September 195 6 .

THIS WAS OUR LIFE. THE MAGAZINE BROUGHT NATIONAL ATTENTION TO INTEGRATION IN HOX IE.


1 9 5 5

May 2 4 : The Little Rock School Board and Superintendent V irgil T. Blossom disclose early details of their desegregation plan to comply with the Brown decision. Later known as the Blossom Plan, it is designed to phase in limited desegregation, starting with one high school in 195 7 and graduallyreaching down to the first grade by 196 3 .

July 1 1 : Twenty-five blacks enroll peacefully amid 1,000 white students in Hox ie, the third Arkansas school system to desegregate and the first in an area of the state with a substantial black population.

July 1 4 : North Little Rock’s School Board adopts a planto desegregate at the high school level in the fall of 1957.

Aug . 4 : Dr. William G. Cooper Jr., president of the Little Rock School Board, sends a letter informingDaisy Bates, president of the Arkansas Chapter ofthe NAACP, that there will be no integration of students before September 195 7.

Aug . 2 0 : Mounting white opposition to integration in Hox ie following a story in Life magazine leads the local board to close its schools.

Oct. 2 4 : Hox ie schools reopen after a federal court bars segregationists from preventing the admission ofblacks. Widespread white absenteeism is reported.

1 9 5 6

Jan. 2 3 :Twenty-seven black students, under the aegis of theNAACP’s Bates, are turned away when they try toenroll for the spring semester at Little Rock’s CentralHig h, Tech Hig h, Forest Heig hts Junior Hig h and Forest ParkElementary schools. Their enrollment is refused on the grounds that school authorities haven’t yet had time to make plans.

Jan. 2 8 :Gov. Faubus reports that “8 5 percent of all thepeople” in Arkansas opposed school desegregation in a statewide poll he commissioned in November.

Feb. 8 :A federal lawsuit is filed in Little Rock by 12 black parents on behalf of 3 3 students to compel the school board to desegregate the city’s schools withoutfurther delay. NAACP lawyers in the suit includeThurgood Marshall, a future U.S. Supreme Court justice.

March 1 1 : All eight members of Arkansas’s congressional delegation are among the 19 U.S. senators and8 1 U.S. representatives to sign the SouthernManifesto. The document denounces the SupremeCourt’s 195 4 Brown decision and pledges to use “all lawful means” to have it reversed. Arkansas signers include Sens. John L. McClellan and J. William Fulbright and Reps. Wilbur D. Mills,Brooks Hays, James W. Trimble, O ren Harris, E.C. Gathings and W.F. Norell.

March 1 8 : Pro-segregation candidates win the school boardelection in Hox ie.

April 2 6 : Little Rock integrates its municipal bus system three days after the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed segregation on intrastate buses. No trouble is reported.

April 3 0 : Former State Sen. James D. “Jim” Johnson ofCrossett announces his Democratic candidacy for governor at a rally in Little Rock, after Hox ie

segregationist leader Herbert Brewer comes to thestage and “suggests” that he run. Johnson attacksFaubus’ “do-nothing stand on segregation.”

May 9 : Little Rock’s new Horace Mann Hig h School, a segregatedfacility for black students, opens at McAlmont Streetand Roosevelt Road . Superintendent Blossom calls the $ 925 ,000 school “the very best this communitycould offer.”

July 1 1 : Faubus tells a campaign rally in Marianna: “No school district will be forced to mix the races as long as I am governor of Arkansas.”

July 3 1 : Faubus wins the Democratic primary without a runoff, garnering 180,760 votes to 83 ,856 for Johnson.

Aug . 2 8 : U.S. District Judge John E. Miller upholds the Little Rock School Board’s gradual desegregation plan in the case brought by black parents. “Thiscourt shall not substitute its own judgment” for the school board’s, Miller writes.

Sept. 2 5 : Democratic presidential candidate Adlai E.Stevenson, introduced by Faubus at a rally in Little Rock’s MacArthur Park, says the Supreme Court’s school desegregation ruling was right and asksArkansans for peaceful compliance.

Nov. 6 : Faubus is re-elected governor with 8 0 percent of thevote over Republican Roy Mitchell. V oters statewideapprove three segregation measures. Initiated Act 2,which authorizes school boards to assign pupils topreserve segregation, gets 73 percent of the vote. The Arkansas Resolution and Act of Interposition,which puts the state on record as opposing racialmixing in schools, gets 6 0 percent. ConstitutionalAmendment 44, which propounds nullification of theSupreme Court’s Brown ruling by interposing thesovereignty of the state, gets 5 6 percent. ManyArkansans, both black and white, were effectivelykept from voting on these issues due to the req uiredpayment of a “poll tax.”


Feb. 2 6 : Faubus signs into law four segregation bills passed by the Arkansas Legislature. The laws establishthe Arkansas Sovereignty Commission to make anti-integration investigations, authorize parents to refuse tosend their children to desegregated schools, req uire organizations such as the NAACP to disclosemembership and financial data, and allow the use of school district funds to hire lawyers and pay otherlegal costs of opposing desegregation suits.

1 9 5 7

2 2

April 2 9 : A federal appellate court upholds the previousAugust’s District Court approval of the Little Rock School Board’s gradual desegregation plan.Expressing his pleasure with the decision,Superintendent Blossom says Hall Hig h School, being built at 6 700 H St., will open on schedule in September.

April 3 0 :The pro-segregation Capital Citizens Council of Little Rock appeals to Faubus in a letter from its president, Robert E. Brown, to “order the two races to attend their own schools” in the fall.

June 2 2 : The North Little Rock School Board announces that 28 black seniors will be eligible to enter previously segregated North Little Rock Senior Hig hin September.

June 2 5 : The school board in Fort Smith votes to desegregateclasses in the fall.

June 2 7 :Attorney Amis Guthridge and the Rev. WesleyPruden, both opposed to integration, submit official req uests to the Little Rock School Board posing a series of q uestions. Guthridge asks theboard to act under a 195 7 legislative act and provide separate schools for white and black children whose parents don’t want them attendingintegrated schools. Among Pruden’s q uestions:“If Negro children go to integrated schools, will they be permitted to attend school-sponsoreddances and would the Negro boys be allowed to solicit the white girls for dances? ”

IN A FAMOUS PHOTO, THE 1 0 1 ST AIRBORNE ROLLS INTO LITTLE ROCK ACROSS THE BROADWAY BRIDGE BENEATH A LOCAL COMPANY’S BILLBOARD URGING PROGRESS.


June 3 0 : A newspaper advertisement by the Capital Citizens Council calls on Faubus to req uire maintenance of school segregation, “since a sovereign state is immune to federal court ordersand since the governor as head of the sovereignstate is also immune to federal court orders.”

July 2 : Oz ark’s School Board discloses its desegregationplans for the fall term.

July 2 7 : The Little Rock School Board, answering the June 27 q uestions submitted by Guthridge andPruden, says maintaining separate schools forwhites or blacks who oppose integration would violate the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. It assuresPruden that the mingling of races at social eventswill be forbidden. The school board also revealsthat Central Hig h will be the system’s only schoolwith integrated enrollment in September. All 700 students at the new Hall Hig h will be white, it reports, and Mann Hig h will remain all black for the 195 7-5 8 school year.

Aug . 1 6 : Two black ministers file a federal suit seeking to have declared unconstitutional the four segregation bills passed by the ArkansasLegislature in February.

Aug . 1 7 :A suit filed in state Chancery Court by Little Rock businessman William F. “Billy” Rectorq uestions the validity of the Arkansas Resolutionand Act of Interposition adopted by voters the previous November.

Aug . 1 9 : A Chancery Court suit filed by Eva Wilbern for her 14-year-old daughter Kay asks that the Little Rock School Board allow white Central Hig h students to transfer to a school that remains segregated.

Aug . 2 0 : Van Buren’s schools, desegregating under federal court order, report that they expect 23 black students.

Aug . 2 3 : Just after midnight, a rock is thrown through the picture window at the home of Daisy Bates andher husband, L.C. Bates, publisher and editor ofthe black F ree P ress newspaper. Daisy Bates tellspolice that a note tied to the rock said, “Stone thistime. Dynamite next.”

Aug . 2 5 : A cross eight feet high is burned on the lawn of L.C. and Daisy Bates. A sign near the cross bears awhite-lettered message: “Go back to Africa. KKK.”

Sept. 2 : Gov. O rval Faubus sends Arkansas NationalGuard troops to Central Hig h to keep the peace.

Sept. 4 : National Guard troops turn away seven of the black students.

Sept. 2 0 : Federal Court orders Faubus not to interfere withthe integration.

Sept. 2 3 : Crowds gather outside Central Hig h on what would become known as “Black Monday.”

Sept. 2 4 : President Eisenhower federalizes ArkansasNational Guard.

Sept. 2 4 : Elements of the 101st Airborne Division arrive inLittle Rock and begin patrolling Central Hig h.

Sept. 2 5 : All nine black students are allowed to enter Central Hig h, escorted by the 101st AirborneDivision troops.

1 9 5 8

1 9 5 9

June 3 :Ernest Green becomes Central Hig h’s first black graduate. The next month, a special session of the Arkansas General Assembly passes laws allowing the governor to close any school “being integrated by force.”

Sept.: Gov. Faubus closes all Little Rock high schools, including Central Hig h, for the 195 8 -195 9 school year.

Sept.: Women’s Emergency Committee to O pen PublicSchools (WEC) formed.

Nov.: Segregationist Dr. Dale Alford is elected to Congressfrom Arkansas’s 5 th congressional district as a write-in candidate.

May: A recall election is held to remove extremesegregationists from Little Rock School Board.

June: A Federal Court rules state’s school closing laws unconstitutional.

Summer: Little Rock School Board announces the reopening of closed schools.

Aug . 1 2 : A segregationist mob tries to prevent the opening of Central Hig h.

Sept.: Central Hig h and other schools reopen for 195 9-196 0school year. Eight black students attend Central Hig hand Hall Hig h with little trouble. The Central Hig h crisisis considered over.


2 4 PRESIDENT CLINTON CROSSES ALABAMA’S EDMUND PETTUS BRIDGE WITH CIVIL RIGHTS LEADERS TO CELEBRATE OUR NATION’S PROGRESS.

President William J. Clinton’s solid relationship with African-

Americans began during his years in Arkansas politics and

continued throughout his presidency. It’s particularly

appropriate that once he left the White House, Clinton would

further the relationship by opening an office in Harlem, the

most famous black district in the country.

During his administration, Clinton appointed more

African-Americans to his cabinet and other federal

posts than any other president in history, earning

respect and admiration for both his words and his

deeds. It was President Clinton who insisted that

we “mend, not end” affirmative action and kept his

promise to put together a Cabinet and White House

staff that “looked like America.”

Clinton’s association with the black community

would lead writer and poet Toni Morrison to

proclaim him, “the nation’s first black president.”

Arkansans embraced this statement in 2002 as they

named Bill Clinton an honorary inductee of the

Arkansas Black Hall of Fame. The next year, Clinton

was named a winner of the National Civil Rights

Museum annual Freedom Award. Clinton was also

responsible for bringing the Little Rock Nine

together for a reunion at the 3 0th anniversary

of the Central High crisis, hosting them at the

Governor’s Mansion in 198 7. Another reunion

was held during the 40th anniversary of the crisis.

Clinton also began the process by which

Mrs. Bates’ home was named a National

Historic Landmark in 2000.

The Most Inclusive Presi d ent in History

CLIN

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HE H

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THE CLINTON CENTER — ANOTHER BRIDGE CELEBRATING OUR NATION’S PROGRESS.

Clinton’s legacy is on display at The William J.

Clinton Presid ential Center – a museum and educational

and archival research facility on the banks of the

Arkansas River in downtown Little Rock’s River Market

District. The Clinton Center houses the largest archival

collection in American presidential history.

The center’s main glass and steel building

suspended over the Arkansas River almost literally

fulfills Clinton’s call to “Build a Bridge to the 21st

Century.” This beautiful, urban park replaces a

former wasteland of warehouses and abandoned

industrial sites – revitalizing the riverfront and

adding new momentum to the rebirth of

downtown Little Rock.

The Clinton Center is located east of Interstate 3 0 and

is easily visible from the highway when crossing the

Arkansas River. The center is within 10 minutes of

the Little Rock National Airport.

Permanent exhibits at the Clinton Center utilize

documents, photographs, videos and interactive

stations to illustrate the 42nd president’s legacy in

many areas, including the civil rights struggle.

President Clinton signed the Motor V oter Bill, which

expands voting rights for all, including the poor and

the young, by creating new voter registration

locations. His cabinet included five African-

Americans, two Hispanics and six women.


Arkansas’s Musical Leg acy

SCOT

T JO

PLIN

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ANOTHER FAMOUS SAX PLAYER FROM ARKANSAS.

The Natural State’s contributions to music and entertainment came not only from African-Americans but

many others who helped establish Arkansas as a significant influence in the arts and entertainment of the

South. Not only did Arkansas produce many native performers, but it also proved to be a stopping point for

others on the road to success.

From the King Biscuit Blues Festival to the folk music that makes up the O zarks tradition, Arkansans’ love

of good music and a good time is legendary. Many well-known musicians have called Arkansas home at one

time or another, from world-renowned soul singer Al Green to jazz bandleader Louis Jordan, and all are

showcased at the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame in Pine Bluff. Listen closely to the heartbeat of Arkansas as

you travel to view the locations these musicians called home.

HELLO, LUCILLE

B.B. King, the legendary blues singer, named his

guitar Lucille after an incident in a nightclub in Tw ist

in 1949. He was performing one cold night when a

couple of intoxicated patrons fought over a woman

named Lucille, knocked over the kerosene heater and

started a fire that burned the place down. King

risked his life to retrieve the guitar from the burning

building. The original Lucille has had at least

16 successors.

THE BRINKLEY BOOGIE

Louis Jordan, celebrated bandleader and saxophonist

often called the “father of American rhythm and

blues,” was born in Brinkley. Jordan is known for

touring with jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald and writing

popular songs including “Choo Choo Cha Boogie”

and “Is Y ou Is O r Is Y ou Ain’t My Baby.”

“ THE ENTERTAINER” FROM TEX ARKANA

Scott Joplin, the self-proclaimed King of Ragtime,

was born near Tex arkana. His “Maple Leaf Rag”

composition made him famous and retains its

popularity after a century. In 1902, Joplin wrote

“The Entertainer” which was later revived in the film

score of “The Sting” in 1973 . Joplin is also said to be

the first black composer to have written an opera.

SINGING WITH THE DUKE

Albert “Al” Hibbler, a blind jazz singer born in

Little Rock, was the lead male vocalist for Duke

Ellington’s orchestra for several years. During that

time, the orchestra had five Top 3 0 songs in

the 195 0s, including a famous rendition of

“Unchained Melody” in 195 5 .

2 6


EUREKA, YOU’VE GOT THE BLUES.

PLAYING THE BLUES LIKE BUTTER

Born Ellis Davis on June 9, 1927, in Helena, blues

entertainer Cedell Davis was stricken with polio at nine

years old. The effects of his childhood illness denied

him full use of his hands, so Davis learned to play the

guitar upside down and used a butter knife for a slide.

KING BISCUIT HIMSELF

Willie “Sonny Boy” Williamson is known as one of

Arkansas’s famous Delta blues performers and inspired

the fall tradition that became Helena’s King Biscuit Blues

Festival and is now the Arkansas Blues and Heritag e Festival

held each year in O ctober.

SYMPHONIC LITTLE ROCK

Known as the “Dean of Afro-American composers,” William Grant Still

was born in Little Rock and became the first important black classical music

composer in the United States. He was also the first African-American to

write a symphony that was performed by a major symphony orchestra and

the first to conduct a major symphony (the Los Angeles Philharmonic).

Still’s personal collections are housed at the University of Arkansas libraries

at Fayetteville.

WE’RE STILL BLUE

Winner of three W.C. Handy Awards in 1997,

blues superstar Luther Allison was born in

Wid ener near Forrest City. Allison, a singer,

songwriter and guitarist, was twice named

Blues Entertainer of the Y ear prior to his 1997

death. Luther would often return to Arkansas to

perform in the Eureka Spring s Blues Festival.

WILLIAM GRANT STILL CEDE

LL D

AVIS


THE ART PORTER TRIO REALLY JAZZED UP LITTLE ROCK.

LEARNIN’ TO HOWL

Raised on a plantation near Parkin, Howlin’ Wolf

received his first guitar at age 18 . Howlin’ Wolf

later learned to play the harmonica from another

influential Delta blues musician, Sonny Boy

Williamson. Wolf would later go on to record

songs with Ike Turner and perform as the

warm-up act for the Rolling Stones.

THE KING OF OSCEOLA

Osceola native and W.C. Handy International Blues

Awards Hall of Fame inductee Albert King taught

himself how to play music on a homemade guitar

created from a cigar box played upside down. In

196 9, King became the first blues musician to

perform with a symphony orchestra. King would

eventually release a tribute album to Elvis Presley,

“Blues for Elvis: Albert King Does the King’s Things.”

THE REVEREND OF ROCK AND SOUL

Eight-time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll

Hall of Fame inductee Al Green was born in Forrest

City in 1946.

JUNIOR AND SENIOR JAZZMEN

Father and son jazz musicians Art Porter Sr. and Art Porter Jr. were both natives of Little Rock. Art Porter

Sr. was born in 193 4 and graduated from Dunbar Hig h School and AM& N Colleg e (now known as the University of

Arkansas at Pine Bluff). After earning a Master of Science in Music Education from Hend erson State

University, Porter would teach at Horace Mann Hig h School, Parkview Hig h School and Philand er Smith Colleg e. Porter

formed the now-legendary Art Porter Trio in 196 2 that performed at jazz clubs around the state until his

death. The trio regularly played at the Camelot Hotel (now the DoubleTree) and Caj un’s Wharf restaurant.

PLAYING WITH THE CHOIR

Art Porter Jr. began his musical career at

an early age with his first audience being the

congregation of Bethel A.M.E. Church. Although

Porter would go on to share his music

worldwide, he would come back to Arkansas

to perform from time to time before his

untimely death in 1996 .

IN SYNCHO

Pianist and bandleader Alphonso Trent was born

in Fort Smith in 1905 . Trent attended Shorter Colleg e

in North Little Rock and played around the capital

city with a group called the “Syncho Six.”

AL G

REEN

2 8


ARKANSAS LAUREATEMaya Angelou, author of I Know Why the Caged Bird

Sings and other autobiographical works, grew up in

the Stamps community in South Arkansas. Angelou

recited her poem On the Pulse of Morning at President

Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993 .

BEST-SELLING RAZORBACKE. Lynn Harris was born in Michagan, raised in

Little Rock and graduated from the University ofArkansas at Fayetteville, where he was the school’s

first black yearbook editor and the first black male

Razorback cheerleader. Between 1996 and 1999,

he became the nation’s all-time best-selling African-

American novelist for works including Invisible Life,

Just As I Am, And This Too Shall Pass, If This World

Were Mine and Any Way the Wind Blows.

VOICE OF THE PANTHERSWabbaseka native Eldridge Cleaver was a

well-known political activist in the 196 0s. O nce

considered the chief spokesperson for the Black

Panthers, Cleaver wrote the 196 8 autobiographical

work Soul On Ice and followed it in 1978 with

Soul On Fire.

AND IN THIS CORNER…Arkansan Jermain Taylor, boxing’s Middleweight

World Champion, still calls The Natural State home.

He grew up in Little Rock poor, fatherless and with

a world of responsibility on his shoulders. Through

hard work, dedication, and good mentors, he rose

through the boxing ranks to earn an O lympic Bronze

Medal and the undisputed middleweight crown.

MAYA ANGELOU, STAMPS NATIVE AND INAUGURAL POET.

JERMAIN TAYLOR RECEIVES A HERO’S WELCOME IN HIS HOMETOWN AFTER EARNING THE UNDISPUTED MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD TITLE.

Other Famous Arkansans


JOHN H. JOHNSON CHILDHOOD HOME.

A PUBLISHING POWERHOUSE

The head of the most powerful African-American publishing company in the United States, John H.

Johnson was born in Arkansas City and went on to own a leading cosmetics company, Fashion Fair, and

publish Ebony and Jet magazines. Located on the same block as the former Arkansas City High School, the

John H. Johnson Delta Cultural and Entrepreneurial Center preserves the life and achievements of Johnson.

BROADWAY STAR

Arkansas native Lawrence Hamilton was born in

Foreman. Hamilton graduated from Henderson State

University and made his 1979 Broadway debut in

“Timbuktu” starring Eartha Kitt. Hamilton also

performed in other Broadway shows including

“Ragtime,” “Sophisticated Ladies,” “The Wiz,”

“Play O n! ” and “Jelly’s Last Jam.”

THE BLACK ROCKEFELLER

According to some reports, Scott Bond, a former

slave from Mississippi, became Arkansas’s first

African-American millionaire and was called the

“Black John D. Rockefeller of the South.” Bond

became the largest individual African-American

planter during his time because of the rich, fertile

land from the basin of the St. Francis River near his

home of Madison. LA

WRE

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30


1 9 9 3Dr. Maya Ang elou, Poet, Author and Ed ucator – ( Stamps)Mr. Ernest Green, First Black Grad uate of Central Hig h School – ( Little Rock)Mr. John H. Johnson, Publisher, Ebony Mag az ine – ( Arkansas City)Mrs. Daisy Bates, Civil Rig hts Ad vocate – ( Little Rock)Dr. G.W. Stanley Ish Sr., Little Rock Physician and Community ActivistMs. Lottie Shackleford , Democratic National Committee,

Former Little Rock Mayor

1 9 9 4Mr. Art L. Porter, Entertainer/ Pianist – ( Little Rock)Mr. Ernest Joshua, Business Lead er, Ow ner of J.M. Prod ucts, Inc. –

( Little Rock)Ms. Debbye Turner, Former Miss America – ( Russellville)The Honorable Georg e How ard , Fed eral Jud g e – ( Pine Bluff)James McKissic, Concert Pianist – ( Little Rock)Evang eline Brow n, Ed ucator – ( McGehee, Portland and Dumas)

1 9 9 5Mr. Hubert “ Geese” Ausbie, Harlem Globetrotters, Basketball Player –

( Little Rock)Col. Wood row W. Crockett, Tuskeg ee Airman – ( Tex arkana)Dr. Joycelyn Eld ers, Former U.S. Surg eon General – ( Schaal)Mr. James T. & Mrs. Ethel Kearney, Parents of 2 0 Colleg e Grad uates – ( Gould )Mr. Robert McFerrin, Sing er – ( Marianna)Dr. William Grant Still, Composer – ( Little Rock)

1 9 9 6Scipio A. Jones, Law yer – ( Tulip and Little Rock)Herw ald H. Morton, Career Minister, U.S. Foreig n Services – ( Little Rock)Dr. Law rence A. Davis, Ed ucator – ( McCrory)And ree Layton Roaf, Associate Justice, Arkansas Supreme Court – ( Pine Bluff)O.C. Smith, Sing er – ( Little Rock)Dr. Grover Evans, Olympic Gold Med alist, Sw immer – ( Jonesboro)

1 9 9 7Barbara Hig g ins Bond , Artist – ( Little Rock)Gretha Boston, Opera Sing er – ( Crossett)Dr. Lloyd C. Elam, Psychiatrist, Ed ucator – ( Little Rock)Keith Jackson, NFL Football Star ( Green Bay Packers) – ( Little Rock)Dr. Samuel Lee Kountz , First Kid ney Transplant, Surg eon – ( Lex a)Rod ney Slater, Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation – ( Marianna)

1 9 9 8Daisy And erson, Old est Surviving Wid ow of Civil War Veteran – ( Forrest City)Willie Branton Sr., Civil Rig hts Law yer – ( Pine Bluff)Mike Conley, Olympic Gold Med alist – ( Fayetteville)Danny K. Davis, U.S. Cong ressman – ( Parkd ale)Samuel P. Massie, Chemist – ( North Little Rock)Anita Pointer, Sing er – ( Prescott)Phyllis Stickney, Actress – ( Little Rock)

1 9 9 9Dr. Ernest James Harris, Ph.D., Entomolog ist/ Research ScientistGertrud e Had ley Jeanette, Actress – ( Little Rock)Ad miral Ed w ard Moore, U.S. Navy, Command er Pacific Surface Fleet –

( Little Rock)Johnnie Taylor, Leg end ary Rhythm and Blues Sing er – ( Craw ford sville)John W. Walker, Civil Rig hts Attorney – ( Little Rock)Eliz a Miller, Entrepreneur/ Ed ucator/ Civic Lead er – ( Arkad elphia)

2 0 0 0Dr. Floyd Brow n ( Posthumous) , Ed ucator/ Found er of the Farg o SchoolMr. E. Lynn Harris, Aw ard -Winning Author – ( Little Rock)Ms. Theressa Hoover, International Church Lead er – ( Fayetteville)Dr. Wilbert Jord an, M.D., Med ical Research Specialist – ( Little Rock)Mr. Roy Roberts, Fortune 5 0 0 Ex ecutive ( Retired ) – ( Mag nolia)Ms. Lela Rochon Fuq ua, Actress – ( Camd en)

2 0 0 1Mr. Granville Cog g s, M.D., Med ical Specialist/ Inventor – ( Pine Bluff)Ms. Amina Claud ine Myers, Jaz z Musician/ Entertainer – ( Blackw ell)Mr. Sid ney Moncrief, Star Athlete/ Business Lead er – ( Little Rock)Mr. Henry Linton, Artist/ Ed ucator – ( Pine Bluff)Mr. Oz ell Sutton, Civic Lead er – ( Gould )Mr. Mahlon Martin ( Posthumous) , Business/ Government Lead er –

( Little Rock)

2 0 0 2Mr. Al Bell, Leg end ary Music Ind ustry Ex ecutive – ( Brinkley)Mrs. Faye Clark, Philanthropist and Co-found er Ed ucate the

Child ren Found ation – ( Pine Bluff)The Honorable William Jefferson Clinton, 4 2 nd Presid ent of the United States

( Honorary Ind uction) – ( Hope, Hot Spring s and Little Rock)Dr. Ed ith Irby-Jones, First Grad uate University of Arkansas Med ical School-

First Woman Head of National Med ical Society – ( Hot Spring s)Dr. Haki R. Mad hubuti, Poet/ Lecturer/ Ed ucator/ Publisher – ( Little Rock)Bishop Charles Harrison Mason ( Posthumous) , Found er of the Church

of God in Christ – ( Plumerville)

2 0 0 3Dr. James Cone, Ph.D., Internationally Renow ned Theolog ian – ( Beard en)Ms. Deborah Mathis, Nationally Synd icated Columnist/ Author and Television

Commentator – ( Little Rock)Evang elist Glad ys McFad d en and the Loving Sisters, Grammy-Nominated

Gospel Record ing Artists – ( Little Rock)Mr. Law rence Hamilton, Broad w ay performer and choral music d irector at

Philand er Smith Colleg e – ( Foreman)Mr. J. Donald Rice, Financier/ Entrepreneur/ Noted Business Lead er –

( Hot Spring s)The Honorable Lavenski Smith, U.S. Circuit Jud g e, United States Court

of Appeals – ( Hope)

2 0 0 4John H. Strog er Jr., Disting uished Civil and Political Lead er – ( Helena)Pharaoh Sand ers, Internationally Renow ned Jaz z Musician –

( North Little Rock)Fatima Robinson, World Renow ned Dancer and Choreog rapher – ( Little Rock)Dr. Patricia Washing ton McGraw , Ed ucator, Author and Humanitarian –

( Wrig htsville)Haz el Shanks Hynson, Ed ucator and Musician Ex traord inaire, ( Little Rock)W. Harold Flow ers ( Posthumous) , Pioneering Attorney and

Civil Rig hts Lead er – ( Stamps)

2 0 0 5Dr. Sybil Jord an Hampton, Presid ent— Winthrop Rockefeller Found ation –

( Little Rock)David L. Evans, Harvard University ( Phillips County)Lou Brock, Maj or Leag ue Baseball Hall of Fame Ind uctee – ( El Dorad o)Louis Thomas Jord an ( Posthumous) , Composer, Musician, Rock and

Roll Hall of Fame Ind uctee – ( Brinkley)Fran Bennett, Actress, Master Voice Teacher – ( Malvern)Martha Dix on, Fashion Desig ner, Business Lead er – ( Arkad elphia)

2 0 0 6Dr. Oliver Baker, PhD., World -renow ned Particle Physicist ( McGehee)Honorable Charles Bussey, Sr. ( Posthumous) , Civic, Social and Political

Lead er ( Stamps)Honorable Justice Glen T. Johnson, Pioneering Law yer and Disting uished

Jurist ( Washing ton) Dr. Emma Kelly-Rhod es, Innovative Social Lead er and Ed ucator ( Little Rock)Henry Shead , Sing er, Song w riter, Las Veg as Performer ( Ford yce)Ms. Lencola Sullivan, Miss Arkansas 1 9 8 0 , Performer and International

Motivational Speaker ( Morrilton)

The Arkansas Black Hall of FameThe Arkansas Black Hall of Fame honors those who have led the way in the long march to ensure civil rights for all Arkansans, inducting educators, doctors, activists, athletes, artists and leaders from all walks of life since 1993 .


To learn more about the African-American experience in Arkansas, contact the Arkansas History Commission’s Black History Advisory Committee at www.ark-ives.com or the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Arkansas Chapter, at www.aahgs.org.

The “Heritage and Civil Rights Pathways in Arkansas” publication is not meant to serve as an all-inclusive authority on Arkansas’s civil rights movement or heritage, butpoints out some must-see destinations that shaped Arkansas’s history. Arkansas has a strong background in African-American culture, and it was impossible to include allsites and locations in this brochure.

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Thanks to Our Partners

Photos courtesy of:

Geleve Grice

Dr. Ruth Hawkins, Arkansas Delta Byways

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

The Butler Center for ArkansasStudies, Central Library

Camp Aldersgate

Arkansas History Commission

Special Collections, University ofArkansas Libraries, Fayetteville

National Park Services, Central HighSchool National Historic Site

Ethel Tompkins

James W. Leslie Photo Collection,Butler Center for Arkansas Studies,Central Arkansas Library System

The Uzuri Project

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff,Museum and Cultural Center

Information gathered from:

The Arkansas Historical Quarterly

The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Central Arkansas Library System, Little Rock

Arkansas History Commission, Dr. Wendy Richter, Director

Clinton Presidential Materials Project

Arkansas Jazz Heritage Foundation

Dr. Ruth Hawkins, Arkansas Delta Byways Regional Association

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Dr. Johanna Miller-Lewis, University of Arkansas at Little Rock Public History Program

John Kirk, Redefining the Color Line

John William Graves, Town and Country: Race Relations in an Urban-RuralContext, Arkansas, 1865 – 1905 (Fayetteville and London: University ofArkansas Press, 1990.)

Fon Gordon, Caste and Class: The Black Experience in Arkansas, 1880 – 1920 (Athens and London: University of Georgia Press.)

Berna J. Love, End of the Line: A History of Little Rock’s West Ninth Street (Little Rock: Center for Arkansas Studies, University of Arkansas at LittleRock, 2004.),

Special thanks to the following individuals and organizations for their participation:

Arkansas Black History Advisory Committee

Mrs. Annie Abrams

Dr. Calvin Smith

Dr. Izola Preston

Dr. Gordon Morgan

Mr. Michael R. Madell, Superintendent, Central High School National Historic Site

(First published June, 2004. Revised June, 2007.)


african-american heritage in arkansas

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